Event

Vetiver

Tight Knit is the fourth full-length album from Vetiver--singer/songwriter Andy Cabic's ever-evolving musical home base. Luminous and surprising, Tight Knit unfolds like a road trip down Highway 1, towards Cabic's home in San Francisco. It represents a summation of the different styles and directions heard on past Vetiver releases, while it introduces some unexpected twists.

"I think I was able to make the most of the different moods of each song," Andy confirms. "Several of the songs have been staples of Vetiver's live show for some time in much the same form as they appear on this recording. Other songs were given a last polishing in the studio. And a few songs were radically reworked from the way they were performed on the road."

"There are songs here that allude to elements of everything Iâve done so far, and songs that have something which heretofore I maybe only hinted at."

Some songs are so stripped down, Cabic played almost all the instruments himself; others work to capture the sound of Vetiver performing live. Tight Knit is layered and rich, with subtleties and nuances that will be more fully appreciated only after repeated listening. While there's also more immediate gratification than on past Vetiver releases, Tight Knit is an album that rewards your attention. As Andy lets us know, "There's still the "way-homer" vibe that I've come to understand is intrinsic to what I do."

Vetiver's songs have been described as "dreamy, gentle songs that George Harrison would have written in some sunny country garden." Happily, that element is alive and well on songs such as"Rolling Sea" and "Everyday." Tight Knit also introduces new aspects of the band's sound with the light bop of "Sister" and "On the Other Side," as these songs glide along with a steady bounce and groove. Tight Knit also contains the faraway and ethereal "Down from Above" and "At Forest Edge," which conjure up images of misty mornings simultaneously filled with sunlight and fog.

Recorded in Sacramento at The Hangar and in LA at Melva, Tight Knit was produced by longtime Vetiver collaborator Thom Monahan and features Andy Cabic on lead vocals and guitars, guitarist Kevin Barker (aka Currituck Co.), Sanders Trippe on guitar and vocals, drummer Otto Hauser, and bassist Brent Dunn. Special guests include Eric Johnson (of Fruit Bats, The Shins, and an occasional touring member of Vetiver), Jonathan Wilson, "Farmer" Dave Scher, and Adam Peters.

Vetiverâs Andy Cabic grew up in northern Virginia and spent a few years in Greensboro, North Carolina, playing guitar, writing music and recording as a member of The Raymond Brake, which is where he first met future Vetiver members Trippe and Dunn. After moving to San Francisco, Cabic helped form the rock band Tussle, and at the same time began recruiting other local musicians, friends and confederates, including Colm O'Ciosoig (My Bloody Valentine), Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), Devendra Banhart, and Joanna Newsom, among others, to record the 2004 debut Vetiver for the Dicristina Stair Builders label.

Vetiver has since gone on to release two more full-length albums, 2006âs To Find Me Gone (Dicristina Stair Builders) and in 2008 Thing of the Past (Gnomonsong Recordings), a collection of cover songs tapping Cabic's deep catalog of inspirations and further illustrating Vetiver's unique aesthetic. Throughout the band's existence, Cabic has toured the world extensively both in his own right as leader of Vetiver as well as serving as guitarist and singer with his longtime friend Devendra Banhart's various touring ensembles. And, in January 2009, in a personal and professional highlight, he will be producing Vashti Bunyan's forthcoming new album.